Blue Skye Country

The road to Friendship leads past one of the prettier bed-and-breakfasts on the midcoast. Take a right off Route 1 North just before Moody’s Diner, and you’ll discover a Waldoboro you never knew existed. Unlike the rather drab section of highway that everyone drives along on the way through town, Route 220 is a thing of beauty. First you pass through the neat downtown, all brick buildings and views of the Medomak River, and then you hit the Friendship Road (still Route 220), which is home to one beautiful old piece of Maine architecture after another. Four miles out, you come to Blue Skye Farm, a distinctive white clapboard Federal surrounded by acres and acres of fields and woods that is as picture perfect as any house on the road. Built in 1775, the farmhouse is full of neat old details, and has some extraordinarily well-preserved stenciling that was likely done by the famed Moses Eaton. And lucky for you, it’s now a six-bedroom inn, so you can tarry a while here. “The stenciling is not the most unusual,” says innkeeper Jan Davidson, who runs Blue Skye with her husband, Peter. “There are lots of Eaton stencils on the Friendship Road. What makes them special is the expanse of them.” Indeed, the pineapple design covers the entire main stairwell, running two stories. The rest of the house is just as nice, and guests have the run of it, from the kitchen to the dining room to the sitting areas (the Davidsons live next door). It’s been lovingly and very tastefully restored, keeping the old but blending in the new — exposed beams, creaky floors, antique fireplaces, and venerable quilts are all over, complemented by thoroughly modern comforts like private baths in four of the six rooms. With its hearth and four-poster, Upper South (“We’re not really into the cute names,” says Davidson) might be the pick of the guestrooms for a winter stay. And people tend to take advantage of it. “We mostly have a guest or two at a time in winter,” the innkeeper says. “Often we get people from Boston or Portland who live in flats and they can come here and have a dinner party — they can use the kitchen or I’ll cook. And they can have a glass of wine without worrying about driving home and getting arrested. In the morning they can have a walk around the property and head back.” One hundred acres of fields wrap around the farm and they’re laced with trails, streams, and ponds. Davidson says the cross-country skiing is quite good when there’s enough snow. If not, there’s always Friendship to visit and everything from Wiscasset to Camden is within an easy drive. Or you can simply put up your feet and have a chat with the Davidsons, who hail from Kent, England, but obviously know and love the area and are just the type of hosts you want at a bed-and-breakfast. Rates are eminently reasonable — rooms go for less than $100 in winter. Call 207-832-0300 or visit www.blueskyefarm.com for more information.